Mute.



No. 683,496. r Paten ted on. 1901. a. w. REMALIA.

MUTE.

(Applicltion filed Dec. 16, 1897. Renewed Feb. 13, 1901.) (No Model.)

FIG. 1

WITNESSES INVENTOR .7 4 mew/L THE Nouns PTERS co, rmYouTno. WASNINGYQKn. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE \V. REMALIA, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MUTE.

SEECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,496, dated October1, 1901.

Application filed December 16, 1897. Renewed February 13, 1901. S i lNo. 47,173. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, GEORGE l/V. REMALIA, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Mutes, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to mutes for musical instruments, and particularlyfor violins and violas.

Its main object is to provide a mute for violins, &c., which may beoperated by the player without interruption while playing.

The mutes for violins in common use are of such nature that the playercannot operate same while playing, but must have one of his hands freeto adjust the mute. This necessitates rests in the music at intervalswhen the rests are often not desired, and thus making it impossible toproduce the fine effects which may be produced by the use of myinvention.

The further objects of my invention and the particular features of theconstruction shown will be understood from the following descriptionwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a topplan of a mute constructed according to my invention, showing part of aviolin in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a side viewof same. Fig. 3 is avertical section on the line as a: of Fig. 1, omitting the violin andshowing in dotted lines the position toward which the parts travel whenthe mute is operated. For the sake of clearness the parts are shown inthis view to have a greater travel thauthey will have in practice. Fig.4 is a detail rear elevation of the bridge and the part of the muteimmediately engaging the same.

The device consists, mainly, of a lever fulcrumed upon the tailpiece ofa violin, one arm of which is depressed by the chin of the player, theother arm being thereby brought into contact with the ends of thebridge. In the form shown the shank or lever 1 is made, preferably, of avery light metal, such as aluminium, which is bent over at the sides toform the ears or projections 1 and 1. The

projections 1' are pivoted at 2 to the ears 2, which extend upward fromthe member 3, being cut and bent from the body of the member 3. Flanges3 on the member 3 e11- gage the tailpiece 7 of the violin. The tongue 3steadies the member 3 upon the tailpiece, and the tongue 3 operates as asupport for the shank 1 and as a guide between the ears 1", preventingthe lateral movement of the shank 1. A spring 4, which is coiled aroundthe pivot 2, holds the shank normally in the position shown in Fig. 2.The member 5, which is the mute proper, is also, )referably, of metal orsome stiff material. This is attached to the shank l and has theprojections 5, with projections 5" thereon, arranged to have contactwith the ends of the bridge 8 when the mute is operated-that is, when byoperation of the shank the member 5 is raised. The projections 5 arereduced slightly toward the pins 5. Astrip of felt or other padding 6 isfastened to the member 5, perforated to permit the pins 5" to projectthrough the same,and lapped over upon the reduced parts of theprojections 5. The felt is slightly raised above the body of the member5, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The operation of the device is as follows: When the chin of the playeris pressed upon the free end of the shank or lever 1, the memher 5 israised. The pins 5 will then come in contact with the ends of thebridge, which is wider at the top than toward the middle or partopposite the pins, when the lever is in its normal position. The felt 6,through which the pins project, will be compressed, but will still havecontact with the bridge around the pins, so as to aid in muftling thesound. This felt 6 also makes the contact of the pins with the bridgeless abrupt than if omitted. The contact of the pins with the bridge, itis plain, will operate to muflie or modify the sound of the violin.

The pins 5 may be omitted. In such case the projections 5 should be ofthe proper dis tance apart to have contact with the bridge in likemanner as the pins on the device shown, or, if lined with felt, the feltshould have such contact. The felt may be entirely omitted; but I preferto use the same, since it serves as a damper when raised against theends of the bridge.

The office of the members 1, 3, and 5 will be understood from theforegoing description, and it is plain that the details of constructioncan be altered in various ways without departing from the spirit of myinvention. I do not, therefore, confine myself to theparticular partsshown.

I am aware that a mute, comprising a member pivoted to the tailpiece ofa violin adapted to engage the top edge of the bridge, is old. Such isshown in Patents Nos. 444,448 and 581,055. I therefore do not claim suchconstruction broadly, but confine myself to a mute which acts upon theside edges of the bridge.

What I claim as my'invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,'is

1. A mute for violins, comprising a member adapted to engage the sideedges of the bridge, and means pivotally secured to the violin formoving the member into the said engaging position, substantially asdescribed.

2. A mute for violins, comprising a member adapted to engage the sideedges of the bridge, and means secured to the violin for moving themember into and out of the said engaging position. v

3. A mute for violins, comprising a member adapted to engage the sideedges of the bridge, means pivotallyseeured to the violin .vvu, Avv

for moving the member into the said engag ing position, and meanssecured to the violin normally urging said member out of the engagingposition.

4. A mute for violins, comprising a member adapted to engage the sideedges of the bridge, means secured to the violin, for moving the memberinto the said engaging position, and means secured to the violinnormally urging said member out of the engaging position.

5. A mute for violins, comprising a member adapted to engage the sideedges of the bridge, an arm on said member for moving the same into thesaid engaging position, and means on said arm for securing the same to aviolin.

6. A mute for violins, comprising a member adapted to engage the sideedges of the bridge, an arm on said member for moving same into the saidengaging position, and a clamp on said member for securing same to thetailpiece of the violin.

GEORGE \V. REMALIA.

Witnesses:

ALFRED MELTZER, HERMANN HEINZE.

